Free In the House of the Wicked by Thomas E. Sniegoski Page B

down as he squatted beside her. “What’s your cat’s name?”
    “Spooky. She’s a girl.”
    “That’s a very nice name for a girl,” Remy said.
    “Mine is Ashley.”
    “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Ashley. I’m Remy.”
    “Remy, can you get Spooky out of there?”
    “Let me see what I can do,” Remy replied.
    “Don’t be a-scared, Spooky.” Ashley turned her attention back to the cat still cowering under the cover of the tall green blades of grass. “Remy is gonna get you out.”
    Spooky began to growl, backing farther away as Remy made eye contact.
    “Hey there, Spooky,” he said, so the cat could understand him. “Why don’t you come out of there, and we’ll get you back into your box….”
    “No,” the cat hissed, followed by an even more ferocious growl. “No box…no car…no.”
    “What’s she sayin’?” Ashley asked.
    “I don’t think she liked being in the box or going in the car.”
    “She makes weird noises in the car,” Ashley agreed with a nod.
    “That’s ’cause she’s upset,” Remy explained. “The car scares her.”
    “I’m a-scared of ghosts,” Ashley said matter-of-factly.
    “Really?” Remy asked. “Well, it’s a good thing there aren’t any ghosts in your new house.”
    “There isn’t?” the little girl asked, looking across the street. Her mother was helping the movers with some of the smaller boxes, but Dad continued his argument on the cell phone.
    “Nope, I checked it out before you moved in. Perfectly ghost-free.”
    “Thanks, Remy,” the little girl said, and he felt her tiny hand slip into his.
    He turned his head slightly to look at the five-year-old, who was staring fixedly at her cat, still hiding in the garden grass.
    “You think Spooky is ever gonna come out of there?”
    “Yeah, I think she will,” Remy said. “Just let me talk to her a little more.”
    “Okay.”
    “Hey, Spooky.” Remy again spoke so the cat could hear him in her feline tongue. “You might want to think about coming out of there before it’s too late.”
    The cat glared at him, her green eyes nearly matching the color of her grassy cover. “Why?”
    “Doone lives in this house.”
    “What’s Doone?”
    “Doone is a very large dog.” Remy glanced at his watch. “And if I’m not mistaken, he should be leaving for his afternoon walk any minute now.”
    Remy could see panic flicker in the cat’s eyes. She became even more skittish, glancing from where she hid up toward the front stairs to the building and the front door.
    “Dog?” Spooky asked. “Dog here?”
    “He’s right inside there,” Remy said, pointing to the house. “And I know for a fact he doesn’t care for cats.”
    “You better come out of there, Spooky,” Ashley coaxed. “Doone don’t sound very nice.”
    “Hey, Ashley?” Remy asked. The little girl looked at him. “Would you get me Spooky’s box?”
    “Sure, Remy.” She turned toward the street.
    “Be careful of cars,” Remy cautioned.
    She stopped and looked both ways before darting across the street.
    “Okay, then,” Remy said, turning back to Spooky. “Ashley is going to get your box, and that’s where you’re going to go. All right?”
    “Doone dog,” the cat whined nervously. “Where?”
    “Doone is inside the house,” Remy explained. “If you get back into your box and let Ashley take you inside the new house, you two will never even make eye contact. Do we have a deal?”
    Remy looked away to see Ashley on the other side with the cardboard pet carrier. He checked for traffic and then motioned her across once the coast was clear.
    “Here’s her box,” Ashley said, handing it to him.
    “Thanks.” He took the box and opened the cover, then placed it just outside the wrought-iron fence, between two of the posts.
    “C’mon, Spooky,” Remy urged the cat. “Let’s shake that tail.”
    “No shake tail,” the cat snarled, her tail whipping angrily from side to side.
    “All right, then,” Remy said, as